Monday, January 16, 2012

Austin City Limits (1975 – Current) TV Series

An American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States. The show helped Austin to become widely known as "Live Music Capital of the World," and is the only television show to receive the National Medal of Arts, which it was awarded in 2003.

AVAILABLE EPISODES
In Country - Songs of the Vietnam War
November 11, 1992
Host: Kris Kristofferson

Austin City Limits (1975 – Current) TV Series
Cast: Assorted

Beatles Revolution, The (2000) (TV)

'Revolution' a Fab Look at Impact of Beatles
November 17, 2000|STEVE HOCHMAN | SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

And when they say everything changed, they mean everything. In the course of this well-thought-out show, hosted by "The View's" Meredith Vieira, celebrities ranging from 'N Sync and Kate Hudson (somewhat questionable, given that they weren't born yet when the Beatles broke up) to President Clinton and Salman Rushdie gush about the Fab Four's indelible impact on music, fashion, spirituality and global politics.

Clinton recalls how the group's February 1964 appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" helped him (and the nation) rebound from the JFK assassination. Tommy Hilfiger confesses that the group's shaggy hair and keen clothes "triggered an idea in my head to start a business."

Musician Anoushka Shankar (daughter of Ravi Shankar) credits the band for widespread interest in Eastern mysticism--"Now we have yoga on every corner. There was nothing like that before the Beatles came along." And Czech-born film director Milos Forman says that the Beatles' spirit of freedom was directly responsible for nothing less than the fall of communism.

For all the social theory explored, the greatest insight may well be held in the quote that's the most touching and personal: "I always remember crying at the end of 'A Hard Day's Night,' " says actor Mike Myers. "Because I liked these guys so much and I wanted to go have fun with them."

Of course, everything is also what has been said about the Beatles before, so by definition there's nothing new here--no new insights, no new revelations, no new music. The 1989 documentary "It Was Twenty Years Ago Today," on the era and making of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," set the standard for Beatles-related social studies, and the 1995 "Anthology" TV series, overseen by the group itself, was ultra-completist. (Curiously, this show sidesteps two revolutions commonly associated with the Mop Tops: sex and drugs.)

Yet like the music itself, the discussion has not worn thin with time or repetition. And any show featuring music and film clips of the Beatles--you know that can't be bad.

"Everything was different. Every single thing was different."

"The Beatles came along and everything changed."

" 'Sgt. Pepper's' changed the world."

If you notice a theme running through these quotes from a motley trio of cultural critics--Tim Allen, Eric Idle and Alice Cooper--you have the basic idea behind "The Beatles Revolution," a two-hour documentary special debuting tonight on ABC, followed by multiple airings on VH1 starting Thursday.

The Beatles Revolution (2000) (TV)
Host: Meredith Vieira

Gargantua (1998) TV Movie

When a biologist discovers a large, lethal amphibian on a Polynesian island the military intervenes. Goofy, good fun. Sci-fi nuttiness.







Gargantua (1998) TV Movie
Cast: Adam Baldwin, Julie Carmen, Emile Hirsch, Bobby Hosea, Doug Penty, Peter Adams, Alexander Petersons

Friday, January 13, 2012

Ed (2000–2004) (TV Series)

It went round and round and back again, watched every episode first-run and still can't remember how it ended. Nice ensemble cast, glib writing and committed acting made for a believable group of eccentrics who could very easily exist.

AVAILABLE EPISODES
Pilot 
Season 1, Episode 1
8 October 2000

The World of Possibility 

Season 1, Episode 2
15 October 2000

The Whole Truth 

Season 1, Episode 8
6 December 2000

Exceptions 

Season 1, Episode 17
28 March 2001

Mixed Signals 

Season 1, Episode 21
16 May 2001

Prom Night 

Season 1, Episode 22
23 May 2001

Last Chance 

Season 2, Episode 22
15 May 2002

May the Best Man Win 

Season 3, Episode 6
6 November 2002

Goodbye, Stuckeyville 

Season 4, Episode 7
5 November 2003

Just a Formality 

Season 4, Episode 10
10 December 2003


Hidden Agendas 
Season 4, Episode 14
16 January 2004


Ed (2000–2004) (TV Series)
Cast: Tom Cavanagh, Julie Bowen, Jana Marie Hupp, Josh Randall, Lesley Boone, Michael Ian Black, Rachel Cronin, Justin Long, Mike Starr, Daryl Mitchell

Truth Behind the Sitcoms 2 (2000) (TV)

Snarky lies and backstabbing is to be expected when too many fight for what is most times a single spotlight. Might actually be interesting if we cared about any of these people. Of the three, George and Wheezy are the only to hold my interest. Decent production with many insights. Featured in this episode are "One Day at a Time", "The Jeffersons" and "Happy Days".

Truth Behind the Sitcoms 2 (2000) (TV)
Cast: Assorted, Mark Thompson

One Life to Live (TV Series 1968 – 2012)

Premiering in 1968 and centering on the lives of the citizens of the fictional town of Llanview, PA. Concentrating on the wealthy Lord family, and the middle-class Woleks and Rileys, the show was one of the first daytime dramas to depict people from different backgrounds. The show was the first to depict an interracial relationship, and among the first to explore drug addiction. It has also depicted dissociative identity disorder, cultism, out-of-body experiences, international espionage, time travel, and even underground cities!

AVAILABLE EPISODES
Final Episode
13 January 2012

One Life to Live (TV Series 1968 – 2012)
Cast: Assorted

Family Affair (2002–2003) (TV Series)

Short-lived visit by something familiar but almost unrecognizable. Flat and visibly lacking energy, even during the supposedly festive holiday episode.






AVAILABLE EPISODES
Holiday Fever

Season 1, Episode 11
5 Dec 2002

Family Affair (2002–2003) TV Series
Cast: Tim Curry, Gary Cole, Caitlin Wachs, Jimmy 'Jax' Pinchak, Sasha Pieterse

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Star Trek: A Captain's Log (1994) (TV)

If you're a non-Trekkie, "Star Trek: A Captain's Log" is no place to start learning about this cherished science-fiction show's lasting appeal. Host William Shatner — Trek's Captain James T. Kirk — presents a batch of clips from the original Star Trek's three seasons. If you're a Trek devotee, chances are good you've seen these scenes many times over; if you're not, it's a baffling jumble, so what's the point? A Captain's Log seems to exist primarily as a commercial for the feature film Star Trek Generations, plus the recent autobiographies of no fewer than three of the series' cast members: Shatner, Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), and George Takei (Mr. Sulu). - Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly  December 2, 1994

Star Trek: A Captain's Log (1994) (TV)
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, James Doohan, Gene Rodenberry, Walter Koenig, DeForest Kelly, Nichelle Nichols